1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a drawer slide assembly for supporting a body guard formed of resilient material. More particularly, the invention pertains to a rectractable protective guard assembly mounted to the frame of furniture and drawers for preventing injuries to users and occupants caused by striking protruding edges and corners of open drawers of desks, file cabinets and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
It has heretofore been proposed to provide protective bumper devices which are intended to protect the edges and corners of furniture from damage and/or to safeguard persons against injury from impact with the areas covered by such devices. One such prior art device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,106, issued Mar. 6, 1975 to Gregov, which discloses a resilient trim type of edge guard applicable by adhesive and described as being especially useful for preventing injury to children on furniture such as a coffee table. The prior art likewise makes various disclosures concerning protecting individuals and furniture occupying dwelling places other than in the home. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,700, issued Mar. 27, 1973 to Cummings, discloses a C-shaped elastomeric corner pad for use on food service carts and U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,491, issued July 12, 1966 to Goode, descibes an attachable resilient corner cap for drawers and doors of office furniture or equipment, specifically of metal fabrication.
The aforementioned prior art protective devices are designed to be permanently secured in place on the furniture or equipment and fail to provide maximum protection to the user or occupant from protruding corners, as well as edges of furniture drawers when displaced in an opened position. It is not an infrequent occurrence for persons occupying an office environment to suffer painful if not more or less serious injury and bruises to limbs from accidental contact with sharp edges and corners of slidable desk or file cabinet drawers, intentionally or inadvertently left opened. However, permanently mounting protective padding of sufficient thickness along the protruding surfaces of the open drawer to prevent injury would substantially reduce the capacity of the drawer itself and obstruct the sliding mechanism of a drawer assembly within the cabinet opening.
It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a retractable body guard assembly for preventing injuries on impact with furniture drawers.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a resilient body guard designed to be installed permanently on the furniture frame and retractably disposed within a drawer slide assembly and adapted to envelope exposed and dangerous areas of furniture drawers to protect occupants and users against injury by contact therewith.
It is amount the further objects of the present invention to provide a protective cushion for preventing injuries caused by striking protruding drawer corners and edges, which also complements the aesthetic appearance of furniture, is antifrictionally supported on a drawer slide assembly, and which does not reduce the capacity of the drawer itself or interfere with the normal sliding mechanism of the drawer assembly.